Young Blood
by Wordweaver452
Summary: Loki escapes from his prison and ends up on Midgard under strange circumstances. Thor follows him, and they encounter a power the like has not been seen before, which could be useful in the right hands. But many hands are grasping for it, and it can be fatal to the one who yields it. And Loki is willing to do anything to have it to himself. (M for suggestive and violent content)
1. Chapter 1

The girl fainted, her head falling right at Loki's feet. Loki looked calmly down at the unconscious form near his boots. He chuckled dryly. This wasn't supposed to have happened. He had no idea how he'd ended up in Midgard. And he had no idea what would have possessed his gateways out of Asgard to sit him in someone's living room.

Slightly confused, he swung his icy gaze around the tiny apartment, taking in every detail. "This is…wrong." He murmured in an emotionless voice.

He glanced again at the girl, but she seemed to be of no significance; just another mortal. He stepped over her as if she were nonexistent. The door to the outside world was across the room of white shag carpet, and Loki glanced at it with a slight raise of his head.

It was a peculiar type of door, made of glass. There was no handle. Loki pressed his palms flat against it and pushed outward. The door didn't move. He tried forcing it in another direction: Up, right, down, left…nothing. His eyebrows rose slightly and he tilted his head ever so little in annoyance. His pale fingers swept over the smooth clear surface, feeling for an indention or handle of some sort.

"Oddly enough, it's not a window." He muttered, his tone hinting aggravation. "But it's not a door either."

He stepped back, contemplating the door silently. It was simple glass. Not a hard obstacle to remove. He raised one foot to kick it out in a shatter of clear jagged crystals, but a noise from behind made him turn. The mortal was waking up.

She groaned, putting a hand to her forehead. "This is the worst headache I've ever had." She complained, lifting her head off the floor. She pushed herself up on her elbows. Her eyes focused on the carpet, puzzled. "Why am I on the floor…?" She cut off, having swiveled her head around just enough to give her a full view of Loki standing by her door. Her eyes widened, but the shock hadn't fully registered before her head flopped dully back to the carpet.

Loki's lips compressed into a tight annoyed smile. "Mortals." He muttered with a shake of his head. He turned back to the glass door and raised his boot again, then kicked out at the smooth paneling. Instantly he felt something pulling hard at his boots, then his leg, and before he even knew it, had sucked him through and was gone again, leaving him…back next to the mortal.

His brow wrinkled. "Is she doing this?" he asked no one in particular, looking down at the mortal with scrutinizing eyes. Then he scoffed. "Can't be. Mortals are powerless." Loki turned back toward the door, not sure if he should try going through it again or if it would simply take him back here.

He needn't have bothered making a decision. The mortal was waking up again. "Brilliant." Loki gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes and stepped away from the girl.

She slowly, shakily stood up, her back to Loki. "What the…?" She mumbled drowsily, turning, and then her eyes widened again and she drew a sharp intake of breath.

Loki held out his hands, palms up. "Don't faint. It's getting old."

The girl paused, her eyes wide, her mouth open. Then she fairly exploded. "What are you doing here!? You're…Oh my gosh…you're…I didn't think...but here you are and…!"

Loki roughly set a finger on her lips. "Stop talking."

The girl nodded mutely. Loki stepped back over toward the glass door. He stopped, facing the door, his back to the girl, and glanced over his shoulder. She was watching him, her eyes rapt and attentive, and very scared.

He pressed his palms against the door once more, and again felt the same strange force pulling at them. Before he could stop himself, he'd been sucked through the door and deposited next to the mortal. Again. "Stop doing that." Loki demanded.

"Doing what?" The mortal's muffled words came from where her hands covered her mouth.

Loki sighed heavily through his nose in an expression of 'dumb mortals' and walked over to the door again, this time not bothering to touch it.

"I've heard of you." The mortal's soft whisper came from slightly behind.

Loki turned around and smiled sarcastically at her. "Could you please shut up?" He turned abruptly back to the puzzling door.

The girl took a step forward. "Do you not know how to work a sliding door?"

Loki clenched and unclenched his fists. "I knew mortals weren't bright but this is ridicules!"

"You're Loki." The girl looked awed. "But why are you here?"

"Oh, because I wanted to take tea with you and your mother." Loki mocked, still studying the door.

"No, you just…" The mortal cautiously took another step. "You just open it. Use the handle."

Loki ignored her, more intent on trying to figure out what had turned the door into a paradox portal. The girl took another step, less scared now.

"Here, I'll do it." She offered.

Loki sucked in air through his teeth but stepped aside. It would be amusing to see the mortal's reaction about getting sucked through the door. The girl stepped up beside Loki, eyeing him warily.

Then something strange happened. If Loki hadn't been mildly enjoying the fear crossed over her face, he would've missed it. Her eyes flashed, going completely white for a glimmer of a second. Loki cocked his head slightly, allowing a small flicker of puzzlement to show. The girl didn't seem to have noticed. She had grabbed a black piece of plastic near the edge of the door and pulled on it, to the left. With a suction-like sound, it slid over, leaving a small crack between wall and glass door.

"There." The girl stepped aside quickly.

Loki made his face remain blank, but inside he was slightly intrigued. He ignored the girl and pressed his palms flat against the glass again. This time there was no strange force pulling at his hands. The portal had disappeared. He stepped back, glancing briefly at the girl. He almost asked her to do it again, but she obviously didn't know of her own power. It might not even have been her causing it anyway.

He turned abruptly, catching her pale eyes. She startled slightly, a quiet gasp. There was something strange here; something strange and most likely powerful. And Loki wanted to find out what. So he folded his hands and looked straight at the girl. "Do you have anything to drink?"

* * *

The girl was sitting on her couch, rigidly still. Her eyes were as wide as they had ever been. Her fingers shook, making the grape juice in her glass ripple. She gripped her drink so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Loki enjoyed being feared. Mortals should fear him. He sat across from the girl in a cushioned armchair, one foot propped up on his knee.

The girl cleared her throat, nervously glancing up at him and then back down at the tabletop. "I'm Gwyneth." She mumbled softly.

Loki honestly didn't care about her name, but she might be important to this strange new power. "I'm Loki, you might've heard of me."

"You were in New York." Gwyneth replied, still not looking up. Her voice was quite close to shaking.

Loki took a slow sip of the red juice in his glass, licking the sweet liquid from his lips. "Intriguing." He looked down at the cup with feigned curiosity.

Gwyneth slowly set down her own drink, flinching when it clinked against the glass coffee table. She was horribly confused and slightly terrified, as was painfully evident by her expression.

"Has it always done that?" Loki gestured over his shoulder at the sliding glass door.

Gwyneth peered at it, puzzled. "What? Opened?"

Loki restrained his annoyance at the mortal's ignorance. "No. Has it always-?" His sentence was cut off by an abrupt crash of thunder, so loud and sudden it made both him and Gwyneth jump.

"That's weird. It's not even raining." Gwyneth noted under her breath, glancing out of a window.

Loki tilted his head up toward the ceiling with a frustrated roll of his eyes. "Brilliant." He muttered.

Gwyneth looked back at him, a question forming in her eyes but her lips too scared to speak it. There wouldn't have been time for an answer anyway. At that moment, a crash resounded through the apartment, shaking the whole building on its foundation. Gwyneth jumped, but Loki seemed to have been expecting it. There was a brief moment of stillness, but it didn't last long. More crashing, more bumps. And then the door was thrown open.

Whatever Thor had been expecting to see when he crashed into the room, it wasn't this. Everything looked to be completely calm, save for the terrified girl sitting on the couch. They were both just sitting there, drinking what looked to be wine.

Loki forced a mocking smile. "Good evening, brother." He greeted without turning his head.

Thor pushed his astonishment aside and strode into the center of the room. "Did you think you could escape your prison by hiding on Midgard?"

Gwyneth awkwardly stumbled up from the couch. "You…it's you. You're here too." She managed to squeak out.

"No I didn't." Loki addressed Thor's question with an ironic note in his voice. Thor's face puzzled for a moment.

"He doesn't know how to work a sliding door." Gwyneth interjected awkwardly. Loki and Thor both looked at her, confused. "He…He doesn't. Him." She explained, pointing a finger hesitantly. "He couldn't open it." She bit her lip, embarrassed. "Sorry…Sorry, go on." She sat back down slowly.

Thor turned his attention back to his brother. "You are coming back to your prison." He stepped forward, snapping a pair of metal bands on Loki's wrists that immediately tightened into hand cuffs. Loki sighed heavily, but stood up from the chair. It seemed he might come along peacefully.

He looked once again at Gwyneth. "I'd stand back if I were you. Thor's a bit of a show off with these sorts of things."

Gwyneth nodded but didn't move from her spot on the couch. Thor stepped to the center of the living room, dragging Loki roughly along with him, and pointed his hammer at the roof of Gwyneth's apartment.

"This is going to ruin her ceiling, you know." Loki said dryly with an empty chuckle.

Thor took no notice of the remark. In seconds, a white beam of light cut into the room, shattering through the plaster of the roof, and enveloping the two Asgardians.

Gwyneth looked at the hole in her ceiling with disgust. She stood up and in two quick strides was beside the newly opened portal. "Hey, wait a second!" She shouted angrily above the crackling of wood. Then, in less time than it takes to blink, the flash of light disappeared, taking Thor and Loki with it. Gwyneth's eyes closed once, and in a split second, she was gone too.

"You can't-!" Gwyneth's sentence cut off abruptly when she took in her surroundings. Gold, intricate gears stretching huge and high above her head, a cold floor under her bare feet, and a black sky of stars through a glass domed ceiling.

Thor regarded Gwyneth's presence with surprise. Loki laughed mockingly. "Oh dear, it seems we have a breach in security."

"Welcome to Asgard?" A deep voice said questioningly. Gwyneth whirled around. Golden steps led up to a golden platform, on which a dark skinned man clad in golden armor and a golden horned helmet stood. He looked at Thor. "Another one?"

No one had time to explain anything. Gwyneth blinked in surprise, and all three of them disappeared again. The feeling of being teleported was nothing new to Loki and Thor, but Gwyneth felt as if she were being stretched out, flipped upside down, squished together again, and shot out of a canon. When she had regained her wits and could finally open her eyes, she found herself…back in her living room, standing under a gaping hole in the roof, next to Loki and Thor.

"And now," Loki gestured around the room with a sweep of his hand, "We come to my problem."

* * *

**So how did you like the first chapter? Yeah, I know it's slow but I swear it gets faster and the angsty stuff comes in. Just bear with me for now, and try not to make rash assumptions, because it's not what it seems right now. please review!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"What was that?" Thor looked up through the hole in the ceiling, then at Gwyneth. "Are you doing that?"

"No way." Gwyneth shook her head emphatically. "That's never happened before."

"I don't understand, the convergence just ended!" Thor muttered to himself.

"How can you not know what this is? I thought it was him!" Gwyneth jabbed a finger in Loki's direction.

"Until we find out what it is, I cannot get back to Asgard." Thor took a dramatic sweeping look around the room.

"I'm not complaining." Loki sat down again, propping his feet up on Gwyneth's glass coffee table.

"Well, if I'm not doing it," Gwyneth spoke up, "And you two aren't doing it…What is?"

"I do not know." Thor looked at her as if just noticing her presence. An idea sparked in his eyes. "But I know who might."

"Have you forgotten? We can't leave." Loki pointed out.

"Has no one thought of trying the front door?" Gwyneth crossed the room to her plain wooden door, which was swinging open on its hinges from Thor's forced entry. She turned to face him, and with a dramatic roll of her eyes, stepped through the entryway. "See, still in one piece."

"Excellent!" Thor nodded, dragging Loki roughly to standing and then pulling him out the door. None of them went anywhere this time. Thor started down the corridor.

"Now, where are we going?" Gwyneth asked, practically running to keep up.

"To Jane Foster." Thor replied.

"Right. I don't know who that is."

The trio rounded a corner in the hall. A door opened ahead and to the left of them, and a person walked out. Immediately they jumped, gasped, and dashed back into the room to get a camera.

"So you think this Jane can tell us what's going on?" Gwyneth inquired, pushing the elevator button once they'd reached it.

The doors opened with a ping and the three quickly stepped on. "If anyone can, she will." Thor replied.

The doors closed again and for a moment, muffled elevator music was the only sound penetrating an awkward silence. Then the doors opened again. A man in a gray suit was barking orders into a cell phone. He stopped mid sentence and gaped at the sight in front of him. Mechanically he rose up his phone and snapped a picture before the doors closed again.

Another minute of elevator music passed. "I have a question." Loki spoke up. "Why is she coming?"

Thor looked inquiringly at Gwyneth. Gwyneth's own face puzzled. "Why am I coming?"

"The strange power was in your house." Thor offered by way of explanation. "And I suspect you could have something to do with it."

"No way." Gwyneth chuckled. "This has _never _happened before!" The elevator doors pinged open again onto the ground floor of the apartment complex. Thor led them out, followed by Loki and Gwyneth, walking side by side.

Awed stares sparked up from the desk clerk and the few people lingering in the lobby. Phones went up and more pictures were snapped. A few bystanders glared at Gwyneth enviously. They reached the front doors without confusion and pushed them open, striding into the rainy streets. Gwyneth stopped on the sidewalk.

"Aw crap!" She yelped.

Thor stopped and turned around. "What is it?"

"I don't have shoes." Gwyneth looked disapprovingly down at her bare feet, toes curling with the cold and wetness of the air. She rubbed her thin arms. It was chilly out there and all she had on were some thin black leggings and a shapeless gray T-shirt that was far too big.

"Good, another delay." Loki said dryly. "It's all the same to me if we never get back."

"Who said anything about a delay?" Gwyneth started walking again, ignoring the soaked concrete under her. "I'm just cold. It's not like I can't walk. Now, where's Jane Foster's house?"

"He doesn't know." Loki smiled mockingly.

Gwyneth turned to Thor, who looked deep in thought, like he was trying very hard to remember something. "That's alright." Gwyneth sighed. "We'll look her up in a phone book." She turned around, looking across the street until she spotted a blue telephone booth. She started off across the road with a purposeful air, not bothering to look at the signal lights and causing a car to nearly swerve into a lamp post in order to avoid hitting her.

Loki and Thor followed her, albeit more polite to traffic, across the street and to the phone booth. At once they all knew it was too small for everyone to fit comfortably.

With a shrug, Gwyneth stepped in first; the noise of rain and street life was instantly muffled. She took the thick paper phone book in her hands and cracked it open. A musty smell rose from within. Thor ducked into the phone booth next, his brood shoulders barely making the cut. And because of the hand cuffs, Loki was forced into the small structure with them.

They were squished together tightly, with Gwyneth in the center, peering down at the phonebook. "What's her name again?" Gwyneth asked.

"Jane Foster." Thor replied.

"Okay, got it." Gwyneth nodded, looking back at the printed information below. She flipped a page, scanning the letters and tracing down the list of names with her finger. "Aha! Here she is!" She jabbed her finger against the paper, emphasizing one small printed name. With a satisfied grin, her hand went to the pen attached to the wall of the booth by a small metal chain. Quickly she inked the address out on her palm, blew on it to dry, and slammed the phonebook shut, which sent up a cloud of dust. She coughed twice, loudly. "Let's go."

Gwyneth turned around, or tried to, but couldn't move an inch with all three of them stuffed inside a phone booth. "Ow! Jeez!" She yelped, tripping over her own feet and knocking into the wall. She attempted to regain her balance, but with no space to stand the effort was futile and she tripped again, falling against Loki.

"Can someone move over?" Gwyneth elbowed at whatever was to her left, trying to nudge a little room for herself. Her unruly black hair fell into her face, obscuring everything from vision.

"Watch yourself." Loki shoved her forward again, making her slam into Thor.

"Will you stop!? I'm not a ping pong ball!" Gwyneth snapped into the entangled mass that was the result of all three of them trying to get out the door at once.

"No, one at a time." Loki rolled his eyes, exasperated at their stupidity.

"Wait, just, hang on!" Gwyneth pushed toward the opening again, squeezing through a narrow space and into the open air of the sidewalk. She stumbled forward, recovered, and bent over, her hands resting on her knees. "Ugh, finally!" She got out between heavy gulps of air.

With more room, Loki and Thor slid out of the opening like wet fish. But the unplanned momentum sent them both knocking into Gwyneth again.

"Hey! Quit that!" She stepped back, then abruptly stopped and let off a yelp. Her hand went to her head, tenderly pressing her hair, which was hopelessly entangled in the metal emblems on Loki's cloak. Loki took a backwards step, making Gwyneth yelp again and forcing her to duck her head to avoid getting her hair yanked out.

"Hang on; my hair's tangled in your…buttons." Gwyneth grabbed a fistful of raven-black locks and wrenched them back. "Ow dang! That just made it worse!" She sucked in air through her clenched teeth. "Hold still!" She complained, still desperately clutching at her hair. "Just let me…" She gave another hard yank and the tangles came free, sending Gwyneth onto the wet concrete.

Thor extended a hand, which she promptly took, and thrust her back onto her feet. "Where are we off to?" He asked.

"I've got the address right…" Gwyneth turned her palm face up to reveal the wet and smudged ink from her fall onto the pavement. She cast a scowl at Loki. "Nice. Real nice."

"Can you still make it out?" Thor squinted down at her hand, attempting to read the smudges.

"I think so, yeah." Gwyneth nodded. "It's that way." She pointed down the street to the left. "I think, like, across town. Which is pretty far to walk. I know you can fly, but if we're coming too," Here she gestured to herself and Loki. "Then you might wanna take my car. Or a bus."

"Or you could just leave us here." Loki offered with a snarky smile, holding out his handcuffed wrists.

"Not a chance." Thor shook his head, offering a cold chuckle.

"Yeah, sure." Gwyneth scoffed. "Okay, now, my car or the bus?"

"I'd quite like to see the faces of the poor mortals on the bus." Loki's eyebrows rose playfully.

"My car it is." Gwyneth stated, turning on her heel back toward her apartment building. Loki and Thor followed suit.

Luckily for the three of them, Gwyneth had parked near the front doors, and there was no trouble finding the cherry red minivan. Gwyneth opened the driver door and sat down in the driver's seat.

Thor looked at the passenger door skeptically, wondering if his shoulders would even fit. Giving a half shrug, he ducked his head and managed to just fit himself into the seat.

"There seems to be a problem here." Loki spoke up, looking down at the chain connecting his handcuffs to Thor's belt.

"You both have to sit in the back then." Gwyneth said absently, strapping herself in.

"Or you could always take off the handcuffs." Loki suggested.

"It's not going to happen." Thor shook his head, ducking out of the car again and dragging Loki into the back seat.

"Alright, let's do this!" Gwyneth turned the key and the ignition purred to life. The car backed up and swerved around sharply to the right, then out onto the road. "Sorry for all the junk back there, boys." Gwyneth said without turning her face from the road. "I don't usually have people in here. Or, you know, alien demi-gods."

The car turned onto the road leading out of the forest of buildings and into a small wooded highway. Twilight was oncoming; the car's headlights lit up trees and bushes. The world took on a purple tinge.

"How long until we reach Jane?" Thor asked.

"Uh maybe like thirty minutes?" Gwyneth replied, glancing at the back seat. "But, really, we're not in the house anymore. Can't you just go back home now?"

"I don't think the location has anything to do with it." Thor looked at her meaningfully. "I think that- Watch out!"

Gwyneth gasped and slammed her foot down on the brakes, swerving around to avoid the deer on the road. The car shredded to a halt, skidding across the pavement before slamming head on into a tree. The windshield exploded, sending glass shards flying. Gwyneth held her arms over her face protectively.

When the smoke finally cleared, the hood was smashed and crumpled, steam rising from the engine. The scent of burnt rubber filled the air.

"That could've been a lot worse." Gwyneth turned around, pushing her hair from her in front of her face. "Is everyone okay?"

"Define 'okay'." Loki grumbled from where the sudden stop had thrown him to the car floor, amid the fresh layer of trash and wrappers.

Gwyneth cringed. "Sorry about that. At least we didn't go over the hill."

"It's quite alright." Thor waved a hand dismissively. "Are you hurt though?"

"No, just a little frazzled." Gwyneth again attempted to part the curtain of messy hair in front of her face by shoving it behind her ears, but it promptly fell again and rearranged itself to frame her pale cheeks. Annoyed, she blew air out of her mouth. "But the car's not going to get us anywhere now."

"Really? Brilliant!" Loki threw up his hands. "Yes, Thor, I'm sure the mortal will be very useful!"

"Sorry! It wasn't _my _fault!" Gwyneth countered, getting out of the car and slamming the door, causing the shattered glass to fall and crackle. "Okay, yes, it was my fault. But we're still stuck here in the middle of nowhere and blaming 'the mortal' isn't going to get us anywhere!"

Thor slowly opened the door on his side, as if afraid he might break it off. "How much longer until we reach Jane?"

"I don't know. Like, twenty minutes or more." Gwyneth groaned, frustrated, and kicked a tree, only resulting in bruising her toes.

"We will have to continue on foot." Thor looked in the direction that the road was going.

"Yeah, in the dark and cold." Gwyneth complained. "I wish I was at home." She sighed, sinking down to a sitting position with her back to a tree, and rested her head on her knees.

The second she closed her eyes, the forest disappeared. There was that same feeling of being folded inside out and upside down and then the walls of Gwyneth's apartment came into focus. Gwyneth was still sitting, now with her back against the wall. Her eyes were wide, and the beginnings of a relieved smile were crossing her lips. "Woah, what?"

"See?" Thor's voice startled Gwyneth. "It is not the location that matters." He set her in a fixed stare, as if she was a difficult piece of a puzzle that he needed to solve.

"This isn't me." Gwyneth stood up.

"We can't find out what it is if we're stuck in the mortal's home." Loki pointed out.

"I have a name." Gwyneth crossed her arms. "I already told you. I'm Gwyneth."

"Well then Gwynnie," Loki replied dryly, folding his arms. "If you're so insistent that it's not you keeping us here and we don't know what it is or how to get past it, just what do you suppose we do?"

"You think I'm supposed to know that!" Gwyneth gave a mocking laugh. "You're the aliens!"

"We are trapped here until we can figure out what this is." Thor interrupted.

Gwyneth shivered slightly at 'trapped'. "Jane's probably asleep, right? I _know_ you don't know her number, and apparently we're trapped…stuck here. At least until morning. So, I guess you'll have to sleep here too."

"Perfect." Loki rolled his eyes. "I've taken up lodging with a mortal! If you didn't fear me I would never accept to something so beneath me."

"I'm not _scared _of you…I'm just mildly suspicious." Gwyneth offered by way of excuse. The way her eyes looked everywhere but Loki's face plainly showed that she was lying. If this weren't enough, she subtly edged closer to Thor.

Loki scoffed. "Mildly, of course."

"I'll get blankets from the closet." Gwyneth yawned and started for the hallway. Halfway to the end she opened a door and took out a large bundle of covers, staggering under its size. She dumped it next to the coffee table.

She pointed a finger at Thor. "You sleep on the couch." She addressed Loki. "And you get the floor."

"Mildly suspicious?" Loki gave a dry laugh.

"I'm not sure I trust you in my house, that's all." Gwyneth turned on her heel and started for her own room.

"I still fail to see how that ends up with me sleeping on the floor." Loki complained to himself, picking up one of the blankets.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Gwyneth woke up with the sun on her face, streaming in from the window. She blinked open her pale eyes and yawned, stretching. Pushing the covers back, she sat up and looked around the room. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Still, there was an overwhelming feeling that something strange and unusual was going on.

Gwyneth swung her legs over the side of her bed and stretched once more, blearily running her fingers through her hair. Something was nagging at the back of her head, pushing her to remember it. She yawned again, and then scrunched up her face as she gave a halfhearted effort to compel her memory.

She gave up with a shrug. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't too important. Most likely, it was time to change the laundry or something. Her hands went to her face, attempting to rub the sluggishness away. Digging the heels of her hands into her eyelids, she saw stars. When she opened her eyes again the nagging feeling came back, more strong then before.

"What the heck am I supposed to remember?" She wondered aloud, her voice slurring. "Finals week's over and I'm not due back on campus."

She stood up, swaying on her feet, and dragged herself into the bathroom. Her reflection gazed back from the mirror like a pale zombie. Her lips were dead white, so she ran her teeth over them a few times until they were at least tinged red. There were slight bags under her eyes, but these she left alone. Instead, her hands went to the small contacts case sitting on the edge of the sink.

The two small blue disks made Gwyneth grimace. They stung, and she didn't really need them. People tended to freak out when they saw her real eyes, or to act like she was blind.

"Eh, I'll put 'em in when I go out." She mumbled, yawning again. Suddenly, a crash from the front room made her jump. Immediately, she was five times more awake than she'd ever been. It must have been an intruder because she was the only person she knew of in the house. Without thinking, her feet were dashing down the hall and into the living room.

What she saw not an intruder. Thor was looking down worriedly at the broken shards of a once beautiful clay vase. "It wasn't me." He stated, throwing a glance at his brother.

Gwyneth laughed in relief. "I forgot you were even here!" She picked up the pieces of the vase with a warm smile, sitting them absently on the table. She hadn't particularly liked it anyway. "How did you guys sleep?"

"Quite well. I slept like a rock." Thor answered.

"Speak for yourself." Loki interjected in an annoyed voice. He looked Gwyneth's way. "Really? A backache. _Thank_ you Gwynnie."

Gwyneth ignored him. "So, what do you want for breakfast?"

Thor shoveled fork-fulls of scrambled eggs into his mouth like it was his first meal in months. The sides of bacon couldn't come fast enough for him. Gwyneth spent most of her breakfast time in front of the stove.

When she could finally sit down with her own plate of food, most everything was either eaten or scattered in crumbs across the table. "Nice table manners." She complained under her breath, giving a sly smile, and picked up her fork.

Across the table, Loki was just as disgusted, if not more so. But his problem did not derive from Thor's unpleasant way of stuffing his face. If anything, it was the slabs of hard meat drowning in grease. He held up a slab of bacon between his thumb and forefinger and looked at it skeptically.

Gwyneth noticed his displeasure. "What?" She questioned, her voice muffled by a mouthful of biscuit.

Loki cocked an eyebrow.

"It's bacon!" Gwyneth countered, swallowing. "Come on, you've had to have had bacon before!"

"I'm not overly fond of the grease." Loki responded.

"You don't like my cooking?" Gwyneth looked slightly hurt. "Well, fine, don't eat it then."

"Your food is excellent, Gwyneth." Thor attempted to amend the insult, managing to spew another gust of crumbs across the tabletop in the process.

"Told you." Gwyneth sneered. Triumphantly, she took a swig of her glass of milk and slammed it back down. Then she turned to Thor. "So…Are you going to try to go back to Asgard today? I bet you could do it now."

Thor gave her a look. "Could we?"

"Will you stop that!? It's not me!" Gwyneth gave an enthusiastic shake of her head. "If it was, don't you think I'd know?"

"It can't be her." Loki interrupted, making Gwyneth and Thor look his way. "She was unconscious when I was here. I was still unable to leave."

"See?" Gwyneth pointed at him approvingly. "He knows things sometimes! It's been, like, 12 hours. I think whatever it was is gone now."

"I could try, but if it is intercepted again…" Thor shook his head.

"If it does happen, then I'll go with you willfully to wherever you think we should." Gwyneth replied.

"It's too powerful to be her." Loki insisted. "She's just another mortal."

"Yeah!" Gwyneth agreed, and then she realized what was said. "Hey!" She glared.

"I still think we should consult with Jane." Thor stood by his word.

"Oh, please!" Loki scoffed. "You just want to see your lovely mortal again."

"Oh!" Gwyneth's face lit unto a sly smile. "She's the one you're in love with!"

Thor's face puzzled. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh Honey it's all over the news." Gwyneth laughed. "We can go visit your little love bird if you want to. I have no plans and what better way to spend a day than with a demi-god alien prince!"

"Excuse me. I still exist." Loki cleared his throat.

"Whatever." Gwyneth waved a hand dismissively. "You want me to call her for you?"

"Call?" Thor looked puzzled.

Gwyneth laughed. "Uh, never mind. Just give me a second." She stood up from the table and walked into the living room.

"I believe the portals are her doing." Thor said to his brother as soon as Gwyneth was out of ear shot. "She appears not to know it."

"It's not her." Loki shook his head. "She was unconscious and I was still kept here."

"Are you sure you're not just trying to keep yourself from your cell?" Thor gave a low chuckle.

"Thor! Your girlfriend's on the phone!" Gwyneth's shout stopped all conversation.

Jane Foster was seated next to Thor on Gwyneth's couch. Gwyneth and Loki were occupying the two well-cushioned chairs that faced it. Jane was holding something that looked like a bulky calculator. Whatever it was doing, it must have been fascinating because Jane was staring at it with wide eyes and rapt attention.

"What's it doing?" Gwyneth asked, attempting to see the screen from her vantage point.

"I don't know." Jane's voice was an amazed whisper. "It's…going crazy!"

"What do you mean going crazy?" Gwyneth stood up and walked over. "Let me see it."

"Woah!" Jane gasped and fiddled with a few buttons. Gwyneth peered over her shoulder. Dials and lights were flashing at random. An ominous beeping sound had started, growing louder and more frequent.

"Hang on, why's it doing that?" Gwyneth stepped back. The beeping subsided.

"Do that again." Jane commanded, pointing the device Gwyneth's direction. The beeping started up again. Jane gasped, astonishment growing on her face. "I don't understand…"

"What's going on?" Gwyneth asked.

"It's like the convergence again. It's like a rip between worlds…lots of worlds…" Jane shook her head in stupefaction. "Except it only does it when I point it at…" Here she looked up, strait at Gwyneth. "Her."

"What!? That's…that's not even possible!" Gwyneth shook her head, her voice as frantic as though she were trying to convince herself. "I can't be doing it! Maybe it's just that I'm standing in the wrong place." She took a large step to the left, and the beeping stopped again.

"No, it's her. It has to be." Jane stated.

"I…c-can't." Gwyneth's hands clutched her hair. "I don't understand! How can it be me?!" Her voice was thick with desperation. "This has _never _happened before! I'm not even doing anything!"

"Yes, this is quite puzzling." Thor fixed Gwyneth in a searching gaze.

"Besides, I'm a mortal. I'm ordinary." Gwyneth's voice was calmer now. She laughed, almost in an ironic way.

"If it is her," Loki spoke for the first time since Jane's arrival. "And she is mortal, how is she doing it?"

Everyone looked Gwyneth's way. "Indeed, how?" Thor questioned. Clearly, they all expected an answer.

Gwyneth had none to give. "I don't know!" She burst out. "I didn't even know I was doing it in the first place! What is it anyway? Is there some kind of force field around my house?!"

"That is what we must find out." Thor thoughtfully scratched his chin. "I believe I know of someone who holds the answer."

"Then we'd better dang well go!" Gwyneth made for the door. "Where are they?"

"That would be the problem." Thor responded. "They are in Asgard."

Gwyneth stopped in her tracks. Her face darkened into a snarl. "WELL THAT'S BLOODY EFFING FANTASTIC ISN'T IT?!"

Loki gave an amused smile, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Oh, I like her."

Gwyneth rubbed her temples, annoyed beyond politeness. "Just how are we supposed to get there?! With me apparently messing up some mystic portal or other and no idea how to stop it! And we have no idea what I'm doing or how I'm doing it! And it's got to be something bad because that's just my effing bloody luck! And the only possible answer lies across half the _universe_!" She blew out a frustrated sigh and plopped heavily into a chair.

Jane and Thor were shocked into silence, so Loki took over the conversation. "Maybe you could, and this is just a suggestion, try not doing what you did last time?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID!" Gwyneth exploded on him. "THAT'S THE WHOLE EFFING POINT OF ANY BLOODY QUESTION WE'VE SAID! GET. IT. THROUGH. YOUR. HEAD!" She clenched her fists, her face red, and tried to calm herself by breathing out slowly through her nose. "Sorry. Sorry, I'm just…exasperated." There was a heavy silence, which Gwyneth took it upon herself to break, seeing as she was the one who had caused it.

"What do we do now?" She asked, looking around the room. "We have to figure something out, or else you two will be stuck here forever." She looked first at Loki and then Thor.

"Perhaps it is only affective as long as we are here." Thor suggested. "If we could go elsewhere on Midgard… Gwyneth, are you alright?"

Gwyneth's face was screwed up as if she were in a great pain. Her teeth clenched and her eyes were shut tight. "I'm fine. I just- ow!" Her hands clutched at her stomach as she stood doubled over. The floor and ceiling seemed to switch places and she swayed on her feet. She let of an agonized yelp, and then crumpled onto the floor.

In a matter of moments, Thor was kneeling beside her. "Gwyneth!" He shook her shoulders roughly.

Gwyneth gave a feeble, half conscious whimper. Acting on instinct alone she weakly curled into a ball.

"Gwyneth!" Thor tried to rouse her once more, but to no avail.

Gwyneth's breathing was growing shallow. Her hands twitched, clenching into fists. Her eyelids fluttered like a broken winged bird.

Thor shook her again, then brushed the hair back from her forehead, but nothing was making a difference. His hand moved to her wrists. "I do not understand. Her pulse is fine."

"No, it's the eyes." Loki calmly joined them. "Look at her eyes."

Gwyneth had hid her face in her arms. Loki roughly took a fistful of her hair and wrenched her head back. "Wake up Gwynnie." He smacked her cheek, leaving a red mark.

Gwyneth gasped and her eyes flew open, but only for a moment, before they snapped close again. But that moment was enough for them all to see the proof that something was most definitely wrong. Her eyes were completely black, and nothing except black.

"How did you know that it would be in her eyes?" Thor looked at his brother.

"The eyes are the windows." Loki answered. "The Tesseract changed the eyes of those it held, as did the Aether."

"Could this be the work of an Infinity Stone?" Thor didn't wait for an answer. He picked Gwyneth up carefully in his strong arms and turned to Jane. "I need to take her back to Asgard. I believe what is inside her cannot be of Earth. It may be the cause of all of this. But I will return as soon as I can."

"I thought you couldn't leave." Jane pointed out.

"She is unconscious now." Thor replied.

"She was when I was here." Loki interjected. "She will still keep you here. I've told you. Although no one around here listens to me."

Thor looked down at Gwyneth, lying limp in his arms. "It is impossible for her to have any sort of power in this state."

"Very well. Go back to Asgard if you must." Loki shrugged dismissively.

"You'll not fool me that way." Thor gave a good natured shake of his head and snapped the handcuffs back around Loki's wrists. Loki's face didn't change at all, save for a cynical raise of his eyebrows.

Thor looked up, pointing his hammer at the hole still in Gwyneth's ceiling. The same blinding gash of light from the day before cute into the room, sending more debris flying. And then, with a sharp flash, the gateway to Asgard disappeared, leaving Jane alone in Gwyneth's living room.

* * *

_**Oh my god. No kidding I'm so sorry i literally FORGOT to publish this chapter. I saved it and just logged off like "there now they have chapter three" but no i actually didn't publish it? I'm so sorry Jesus Christ! I promise on my account a new update every Sunday. In fact, i was getting ready to publish chapter four when i saw i hadn't even given you chapter three. Oh my god. I'm so sorry.  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Gwyneth's eyes opened to a blinding light. The air was a vacuum trying to turn her inside out. Wind lashed her hair into her face, forcing her to close her eyes again. She turned her head away from the wind, leaning it against something warm and strong. Her senses were still coming into focus, and her mind wouldn't think at all. A dull ache had settled into her stomach. It seemed like even the air around her was shaking.

As soon as she noticed this, it stilled. The wind disappeared and she could breathe freely now. On instinct, she opened her eyes again. She gasped. The same golden mechanisms she had seen yesterday were stretching over her head in a beautiful arch.

The very next thing she noticed was that her vision was sideways. Her head snapped up right immediately, her thoughts finally catching up with her senses. Something was carrying her.

"Ah, you've finally returned." A deep voice spoke.

"Yes, Heimdall." Thor's reply came. "There were some complications."

Gwyneth craned her neck to look up, being that her head was angled towards the floor. The dark skinned guard from yesterday was still standing on his gold pedestal. He was looking straight at her.

"I hope nothing too serious." His gaze did not move. "You've brought her back."

"Hi." Gwyneth offered awkwardly.

"Welcome back to Asgard." Heimdall gave a very slight smile.

"Uh, thanks." Gwyneth mumbled, her face turning red as Thor gingerly set her back on her feet, keeping one hand on her shoulder to steady her. She was still slightly dizzy.

"You seem to have taken up a collection of mortals." Heimdall addressed Thor.

"She is not well." Thor explained. He was going to say more, but Gwyneth interrupted him.

"Yeah, apparently there's something wrong with my eyes." She brushed a stray lock of hair back into its place.

Something like puzzlement flickered over Loki's face. It was something that Gwyneth had said, exposing a bit of useful information to stow away until the appropriate time arose.

"The last time you brought us an ill mortal, it nearly resulted in the fall of this realm and all the others." Heimdall chuckled, almost inaudibly, but he waved the group on good naturedly.

Thor smiled gratefully and then led Gwyneth and Loki onto the bridge leading from the Bifrost to Asgard.

"So what happens now?" Gwyneth asked, walking fast to keep up. Still not having recovered completely from the episode, her legs buckled and she stumbled.

"I will take you to speak with my father, Odin, king of Asgard." Thor answered.

"A king?" Gwyneth's voice was awestruck. "Are you sure he'll help me? I'm not that big of a deal."

"He will, if I request it. He is wise. Perhaps he can tell us what has happened to you."

"He knows less than you suppose." Loki muttered under his breath.

"And what are we going to do about him?" Gwyneth nodded in Loki's direction. "I thought you said he was, like, in prison or something."

"Loki will be placed back in his cell. By Odin's orders." Thor assured Gwyneth.

"Okay, so we drop him off first or is he coming with us? Because…" Gwyneth threw a backward glance at Loki. "I'd rather he didn't."

"I feel so cherished." Loki responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm not the one who destroyed New York with an army of bug-people." Gwyneth retorted. "Seriously though, where is your father or whatever? I hope he's close because my feet are not taking well to your rainbow bridge. Haven't you ever noticed that it's kind of hot?"

Thor chuckled. "The palace is just up ahead. It is not very far from here."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Gwynnie was just trying to get someone to carry her." Loki mocked, giving a sound like half hearted laughter but not smiling.

Gwyneth scowled. "Quit gibing at me! I never asked for you to crash into my apartment."

"Nor did I." Loki was about to start an argument, but Thor mended the situation.

"None of us did. Let us just go to Odin as soon as we can."

"You mean he's going with us!? Again!?" Gwyneth sighed. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Wise choice, brother." Loki spoke to Thor this time. "I know far more of Infinity Stones than Odin ever will."

"I do not believe this is the work of an Infinity Stone."

"Um, excuse me." Gwyneth intruded. "Do I get a say in this? What's an Infinity Stone?"

"Fear not, Gwyneth. All will be explained in due time." Thor promised.

"Uh huh. That helps so much." Gwyneth shook her head, then turning to Loki she said "I don't suppose you can give me anything less cryptic?" She wasn't expecting an answer, and in any case she didn't get one. Her escorts just walked on in silence.

But Gwyneth lost interest in them anyway. Her eyes were drawn to the color shooting through the bridge under her feet, and to the scenery around her. Crystal clear streams of water cascaded into waterfalls and pools showing the fish swimming in their deepest depths. Houses and trees, gardens and courtyards were arranged meticulously. _What it would have been like to grow up here! _Gwyneth thought to herself.

Then she caught sight of the palace. Its golden structures, not quite columns or archways, reached into the sky as if to snag the clouds themselves. The entire thing was gargantuan. There was an aura of other worldly-ness that was at once futuristic and fantastical, reminding Gwyneth of Science Fiction mixed with Medieval Fantasy.

There was no one else on the bridge, and everyone in the streets seemed to be absorbed in their own happenings. In any case, there didn't seem to be any royal fanfare going on. The three were drawing close to the palace, much to Gwyneth's relief. Whatever had happened to her had left her weak and dazed. Although she didn't like to admit it, it had her worried. Even more unnerving was the fact that no one seemed to be able to make sense of it.

Finally they reached the outer courtyard of the palace. Guards were stationed at the door, holding long spears and with swords in their belts. Gwyneth swallowed nervously, but at a nod from Thor the guards stepped aside, glancing at her curiously and not saying a word.

The inside of the palace was even more magnificent than the outer workings, if that was possible. Golden trim, intricately carved chandeliers, looming columns, and delicate curtains fit to heighten the level awe inspiring grandeur.

Gwyneth had never seen anything close to it before, even when she had gone to London on holiday. Her own drab clothes made her feel out of place. Her face flushed as she thought of what she must look like. She hadn't combed her hair, or put on decent clothes, or even shoes. Worst of all, her eyes were completely exposed and as white as they always were.

"So you both grew up here?" She asked idly, simply to fill in the silence. Her mind was elsewhere, namely, at home. "That must've been nice. It's a very big palace."

"Not all royal childhoods are as happy as they might seem." Loki said in an undertone, as if to himself.

"Father will be in the throne room." Thor stated, leaving the grand front hall in favor of a set of winding stairs.

"Oh, wait, woah. A throne room? Do I have to bow or something?" Gwyneth snapped her mind back into alert. Meeting a king would draw anxiety from the best of us. Unless, of course, you were the king.

"Thor, I do not think this is the best action to take." Loki spoke quietly, as if he were used to not being listened to. "We should get her to a healing room, where someone can actually examine her. Odin will not be able to solve this."

"He knows more than you give him credit for." Thor defended. "He knew of what was in Jane, he will know about this as well."

"And if he doesn't?" Loki tilted his head in a gesture that obviously meant something bad would happen to Gwyneth.

Gwyneth, having been sidelined by the conversation, was wondering what had suddenly made her important in Loki's eyes.

Behind his cool mask of indifference, Loki was thinking of how Odin would send him to his cell as soon as he laid eyes on him, depriving him of any chance to escape. Or to hear about this newfound power. Whatever it was, obviously it held some affect, to counteract the Bifrost and bring them back to Midgard.

Thor thought for a moment. "Perhaps you may be right."

"I often am, and still people are always surprised." Loki gave a subtle shrug and a cynical smile.

Gwyneth lay flat on her back on some sort of gold tinted table. Above her was a floating outline of her own body, like an X-ray, made of some sort of grainy red stuff. What she guessed to be something like nurses bustled around her, examining the stuff above her. One of them was peering into her eyes with something like a regular stick that gave off a red glow.

Thor had opted to take Gwyneth to a healing room first and send word to Odin. He was now standing beside one of the healing women, in a position that just a month ago had been very familiar; he had been watching Jane undergo the exact same treatment.

Loki, due to the handcuffs that Thor was so adamant stay on, was standing nearby as well. He looked bored, which is what anyone seeing him would assume. It was precisely what he wanted them to think.

His mind was anything but idle. The information he had learned over the past few days needed to be fit together. Gwyneth had either been injected with a power, like Jane Foster had, or she was the power. But she was mortal, so the second option was impossible. Obviously, she was still aware of what transpired around her when she was unconscious, because she'd not only heard but remembered that her eyes were a sign of the problem: a point Loki had brought out when she'd been seemingly dead.

This brought about more questions. Her eyes had flashed white when she had stopped the effect of the glass door, but when she went under they were black? And what of the color when she wasn't out cold or opening portals? The iris was white, surrounded by a black ring that separated it from the whites of the eye. The pupils remained black. Quite odd.

The first time she had fainted in her home, Loki had thought it was because of fear. But could she have been the one who unknowingly brought him to Midgard? Perhaps the fainting was an after effect of her abilities.

In whatever case it may have been, she didn't seem to know what was happening. It was possible that she was lying, but what reason had she of that? She didn't seem the type to be good at deception anyway. And what, exactly, was this power capable of?

She and Thor had assumed it was only keeping them at her house, but what else? Loki had not forgotten how she had accidentally found her way to Asgard the first time. It did not seem like she had simply stepped into the Bifrost by mistake. And how had it made Loki end up in Midgard, in her house, in the first place? And not only that, but it took him back beside her each time he'd had a run in with the glass door.

It could teleport; that was almost certain. But what were its limitations? Did it actually depend on Gwyneth herself? It didn't seem like a willful happening. This would need to be tested and explored. The power to open up a door between realms, even if only Midgard and Asgard, at any time and from any place, could be quite useful to someone who would rather avoid prison.

But to observe this power meant Loki would need to be near Gwyneth, and out of his cell. And she was afraid of him, although she didn't act it when Thor was around. This was where Loki hit a wall. Gwyneth did not need to trust him, but if he wanted to find out anything she couldn't be running scared either. And, of course, there was the inconvenient matter of imprisonment.

Those details would have to be sorted out later. Loki's mind switched back to the present. He was observing Gwyneth and the healing women intently, but not in a way that you could see it. He listened carefully to any word spoken, hoping to pick up on a clue or a missed factor.

But it was infuriating. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing showed up at all. Gwyneth was completely normal. It was as if the power had rose and set like the sun and was now gone. Not a trace of it remained.

This confusing riddle was occupying everyone's mind in the room. It was a horrible time for Odin to walk in. But walk in he did.

* * *

**_Gah! I keep losing track of time between updates! I'm sorry if this took a long time but I can even remember! Well, now the fun starts. And if you don't mind please review if you can because i need constant reassurance that I'm not a flop and such... _**


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